The Peacock Room women's clothing retailer to open another Detroit location

Popular Detroit women's clothing retailer the Peacock Room is to open a second store in Fisher Building this fall.

About three times bigger than the existing Peacock Room — which measures about 1,100 square feet and is in the Park Shelton in Midtown — the new Fisher Building store will serve as the retailer's flagship location.

In addition to more of the vintage-inspired dresses (think Hollywood glamour from the 1920s-1950s) and fun accessories for which the Peacock Room has become known, the flagship store also will have a mini bridal boutique for nontraditional brides looking for a bit of nostalgia.

The flagship store is expected to open in October.

Rachel Lutz, owner of the Peacock Room(Photo: Georgea Kovanis)

The Wednesday afternoon announcement of the new store by owner Rachel Lutz is important for three reasons:

• Lutz's Peacock Room — which carries an incredible array of sizes, from 00 to 26 — is a favorite with women not just in Detroit but throughout the metro area. So this is good news for shoppers.

Aerial View of the Fisher building in Detroit in 2012. It was designed by Albert Kahn.(Photo: Romain Blanquart, Detroit Free Press)

• It comes at a time when many big box and national retailers — think Sears, Macy's, J Crew, Payless —are struggling.

Lutz opened the Peacock Room in 2011. In 2014, she opened Frida, a women's clothing store that specializes in bohemian-style apparel and accessories; it is in the Park Shelton, near the Detroit Institute of Arts. In September, she plans to open Yama. Located in the Fisher Building, it will specialize in women's clothing with a modern edge.

What will you find at the Peacock Room? Something like this, which was available at the store recently.(Photo: The Peacock Room)

"There's a backlash against the big box experience,'' said Lutz, who counts incredible personal service as something that differentiates her stores from chains and also from online shopping.

At the same time, Detroit remains underserved by retailers; despite revitalization, there still aren't a lot of places around to buy a dress or a T-shirt that doesn't have the word DETROIT blinged out across the chest.

• It's a signal that more development may be creeping north from Downtown and Midtown to the New Center neighborhood.

Apartment developments are under construction in New Center. The Fisher and Albert Kahn buildings are being renovated. The Detroit Pistons practice facility is set to be built. Lutz is making a smart move, getting her business in place as the neighborhood starts to become more popular.